


Too much of a good thing

by Mowji



Series: T:"No more resurrections" ... L: "Oh? Hold my tea" [8]
Category: Avengers, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor - Fandom, marvel movies
Genre: Alternative End Game, Alternative Infinity War, Fat Thor, Free Loki, Gen, Good Loki, Jotun Loki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-02-23 00:23:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23536084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mowji/pseuds/Mowji
Summary: Loki wakes up, after the battle on the Statesman, in a pod and floating in space. And this is where it all starts. He has no idea what has happened, he has no idea how he got here (where ever here is), where is Thor, where is Asgard?...And why does the universe feels so.. weird?
Relationships: Loki & Thor
Series: T:"No more resurrections" ... L: "Oh? Hold my tea" [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1119342
Comments: 11
Kudos: 58





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You know how I am with guessing the amount of chapters. I'll keep it at 8 for the time being, but don't be suprised if it turns out more. Or if it turns out less chapters. Originally this story was meant to be an one chapter only story. So.. yeah.. I am chaos :)

Loki wakes up slowly. He remembers flashes of his nightmare. So many nightmares plague him, he can count the nights he slept peacefully on one hand. He had dreamt that he was in a fight, a losing fight with Thanos and his army, Asgardian civilian bodies everywhere. The nightmare, unlike the others usually are, is very vivid in his mind. His body aches. Probably one of the training rounds with Thor, Hulk and Val that didn’t go his way. He lifts his hand to rub his face. To chase the bad leftovers of the nightmare. Only before he can rub his face, his hand collides with a ceiling above him. His eyes shoot open. He’s staring at the control panel of one of the escape pods. He rubs his face, especially his eyes. He is in an escape pod? He opens the see-through-lid of the control panel. An extra precaution so you wouldn’t start any program accidently in your sleep. His fingers dance over the buttons of the panel. Very quickly he has the information he was looking for. He had been laid into the pod and it had been ejected nearly 24 hours ago. This makes him wonder even more. Who would have laid him in this pod and eject it? Because the pod has made it clear that it was launched manually from outside the pod. 

Suddenly it hits him. That nightmare, that wasn’t a dream. That was real. Thor. Did Thor survive it? Did Thor put him in the pod? He tried to get the information about that but the pod only states that a male humanoid being has put him in the pod. Loki stares at the security footage of the pod. The image isn’t very good. It’s vague and gritty. As if somebody had been jamming the signal. All he sees is a slender dark figure that puts another slender dark figure in the pod. One thing is clear, it wasn’t Thor who had put him there.  
He feels a sudden shake and notices how the pod is starting to move. After a while there is some more shaking followed by a huge clunk sound. Then everything gets silent. Even the oxygen system of the pod is shutting down. That can only mean one thing, breathable air. He notices the green light on the small dashboard, confirming that idea. 

With a hiss the pod opens. Loki sits up and looks around. The pod is in a bay or a cargo area. He’s not sure. He does notice the tractorbeam in one of the walls cooling off. So that is what he had felt. the connection, the soft pull and the landing courtesy of the tractorbeam. He carefully gets out of the pod. He has spotted the camera and expected a response through the speakers. But it all stays silent. The door opens automatically when Loki nears it. In a reflex he presses himself against the wall and blends in. But nothing happens. In stealth Loki continues his careful journey. But everywhere he goes on this small ship, there is nobody.Only the emergency lights are burning, giving the interiors of the ship an eerie look. He finds the cockpit and sits down in the pilot seat. His eyes dance over the control panels. It’s a blend of old and new technology. Touch screens, buttons and even a lever here and there. His hand graces of the control buttons. How vintage. This cockpit reminds him a bit of the cockpit of the Statesman. The Statesman was an old cruise ship that had been used for a lot of things after it was no longer in use as a cruise ship because of its age. He noticed a sign above the external com system. He wipes it clean and reads: Statesman Shuttle B-4.  
He leans back in the chair, turns playfully with the char, left right left right. Elbows on the armrest, fingers of each hand tapping rhythmically against each other. He can put a few things together now. His savour had put him in that pod. The pod had gotten realedin automatically by the tractorbeam of the shuttle to the cargo bay of the ship.  
He taps on an ‘on’ key on the panel and the whole cockpit springs to life. He blinks at the bright lights as they hit his eyes. It takes him a while before he grasps what each controle means. 

He taps on one of the buttons and the shield of the window is lifted. He can now see the outside world. It’s a view he had rather not seen. The space around the shuttle is filled with debris of a big ship and bodies, lots of bodies floating around. He swallows. This means that the Statesman has exploded. What about Thor? Did Thor survive it? If so, where is he? It takes a few minutes before Loki has managed to get a proper scan of the area. He gets a strain of hair from Thor out of a dimensional pocket and puts it in the scanner so it can scan for one specific person. While working with the scanner he notices how devastating the explosion must have been. It makes him wonder how this shuttle managed to survive it. That thing was parked with all the other shuttles in the hangar of the Statesman.  
His thoughts get interrupted as the machine starts to produce an annoying sound. He looks at the score. It’s a very low percentage. His heart skips a beat. Perhaps only a small piece of Thor is left? He pushes that negative thought away and moves the ship carefully through the dead bodies till he’s at the spot the signal indicates.  
But what he sees is not Thor. No, he sees a slender man floating in space. He tries to zoom in, but the camera refuses to do so. Loki grumbles as he gets up and walks towards the exit lock. As the airlock prepares itself to open up to space, Loki shapeshifts a tad. He still looks the same, but inside his body is now getting ready to survive in space. The moment the airlock starts to feel uncomfortable, it opens. 

His magic propels him forward. He could have changed into one of the space dwellers like the spacewhales, but he wants maneuverability. He doesn’t feel like bumping into the corpses of the Asgardian. In this area there are more bodies floating. He finally reaches the spot the computer had indicated. He noticed the black yellow cape from a distance. Floating around the body like a homing beacon. He recognises that cape. It’s his. He looks behind him. His cape is still there.  
Now up close, he gets the shock of his life. When he turns the body around, he’s staring in his own face. Startled by the horrible death mask his face carries. He sees the coloration around the neck, the blood from his mouth and nose. He rubs his own neck nervously. Only then he noticed the wetness on his hand. It’s not blood, it’s see through. He sniffs but in space things work differently. He carefully licks his hand and registers the saltnes. Immediately he gets a vision. Thor holding his body, crying.. No bawling. He shakes his head to clear it. He stares at his hand, then at his own corpse. He wants to know. Two Loki’s, how is that even possible. One way to find out. He presses on both his fingers to the temples of the corpse.

The moment he taps in, there is an onslaught of immages entering his mind. It’s overwhelming. It’s a lifetime of experiences entering his mind all at once. He passes out, but he doesn’t notice it. HIs mind is working in overdrive. At first it’s a big jumble of images and sounds. All mixed and in a wrong order. Slowly his mind is putting things in the right order.Separating the old memories and the new memories from each other. And when the new memories start to fall in the correct order, Loki starts to live or rather relive the life of the dead Loki.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, hold on to your bobby socks, it's going to be bumpy in the end. We all saw the beginning of Infinity War... right? Thou are warned.

Their lives start to divert from each other at the moment Stark gets a heart attack. Loki’s eyes follow the Tesseract, as it flies through the room and rolls over the floor. It stops rolling because it bumps softly against the foot of a chained Loki. Loki doesn’t hesitate. He grabs the cube and disappears quickly and silently.   
Curious and eager the living Loki follows the antics of the dead Loki. How he bounces from reality to reality, timeline to timeline. How he changes significant things in the history of worlds like Midgard. 

Although the dead Loki visits a lot of worlds, Midgard is a favorite. Loki laughs when he, the other Loki, burns down the head office of the TVA and as an encore some of their side offices. They tried telling him what he should or shouldn’t do. Apparently tricking Hitler into thinking that attacking Russia at that time of the year was a good idea , had been wrong according to the TVA. They had been furious. Nazi Germany was supposed to win. Now they lost their battle against Russia and was the beginning of the end of the Nazi Empire. 

Or how he tricks the world into thinking that the Mona Lisa is about a mysterious woman. While in fact it was a shape shifted Loki, looking like an androgenous young man, daring the Da Vinci to paint him more femanine. Da Vinchi and he had laughed in Da Vinci's private quarters about all the speculations. People had been guessing who it was from day one the painting was finished. 

More and more shenanigans, tricks and other fun things wove a tapestry of a life filled with fun, joy and laughter. But as always, all good things must come to an end. Thus also in Loki’s case. Too late Loki realised he had used the stone in the wrong manner. By the time he had figured out the correct way to use it, the damage to Loki’s body was done. Because he was a god, the deterioration was slow but there was no turning back. Because of his own actions, the timeline that diverted from the spot where he disappeared with the Tesseract, had ceased to exist. And with its disappearance, Loki would eventually disappear too. It was ineffable. He didn’t like that one bit. He didn’t want to fade away. He wanted to go out with a bang. Let it mean something.

The dead Loki’s search ends up on Sakaar. Ha has had premonitions of what was about to happen to Asgard in this timeline. He had noticed the opportunity for him to go out in a blaze of glory. And so, on Sakaar, he started to make preparations. He changed himself into an old man. In his many travels he had picked up a lot of mechanics. This left him with the opportunity to build an image of himself as an old on board mechanic that was retired on Sakaar. He started buying old spaceships, tinkering with them and selling them again. Soon it was known on the whole of Sakar, if you want a ship or ship parts you would go to Bor Thorinson. It was no surprise that when Loki needed a ship for Asgard, he went to Bor Thorinson. If somebody had a ship big enough it would be him. Bor had been reluctant to sell the Statesman to him. The ship wasn’t ready, although Bor had been tinkering on this particular ship for a long time. Loki could only get the ship if Bor could tag along. Loki had been hesitant at first. But since he had Krog and his merry band of rebels with him too, a mechanic would be a great asset to the group. 

The attack on the Statesman was not exactly a surprise to Bor. During the fight he sought for Loki and found him running through one of the corridors after he had shoved some Asgardians into the small ships in the big docking bay of the ship. Loki almost bumps into him. On a demanding tone: “Why aren’t you on one of the shuttles? When I said everybody I meant EVERYBODY.” Bor bows his head. “I’m sorry, my lord. I will comply.” “Good.” says Loki firmly. “Follow me.” Loki turns and walks to the smaller docking bay. Bor follows him. 

After they’ve entered the docking Loki turns while he gestures to one of the small shuttles. He freezes as he looks straight into the eyes of himself. Their hair is different but the man in front of himself is himself. Before he can respond, Bor Loki makes a small gesture with his hand and Loki’s world turns black. Bor Loki catches Loki as he falls. Gently guiding him to the floor. Pressing his fingers against the temples of Loki and reading his mind. Looking for a short recap of what happened. Images race by in Bor Loki’s mind, hurried with the emotions that come a long. Once finished reading, Bor Loki gently lifts Loki off the floor and lays him down in one of the small escape pods. He takes one good look at Loki, then closes the lid. There is a small green shimmer on the pod. The automated system lifts the pod into the eject tube. The next moment the pod is floating in space. 

His hand touches a big pile of trash. The image trembles and the B-4 shuttle appears. As he enters the shuttle, it comes to life. In the cockpit, Bor Loki activates several protocols. Followed by several protection commands for the shuttle itself. This shuttle was built for small outings. Going with several passengers to a specific location to enjoy it there for a couple of days and then go back to the Statesman. It was designed to travel through rough areas, but still carry a lot of comfort for its passengers. It even had a viewing room at the top of the shuttle. Once the protective shielding had gone down, you could look at the wonders of the universe from there. This was exactly what Bor Loki needed. He hadn’t for nothing tinkered on this shuttle the most of all. The other shuttles and ships had been strengthened to withstand blasts and travel long distances fast. But this particular shuttle was meant for him, or rather, the other him.

When he leaves the shuttle he takes one last look. There is nothing to see. Satisfied with the results, he walks away. He knows what he must do next. As he walks through the same corridor, like he did a few minutes ago, he looks through the window. There’s nothing to see, but he knows the pod is out there, heavily protected and invisible. Only one thing left to do. He does some minor shapeshifting. Now he looks exactly like the other Loki in the escape pod. 

With a resolute pace he walks into the room where Thanos and his children are. Ready to face his final music. He knows it won’t be pretty, but it has to be done. At least one Loki and one Thor will be alive in the end.   
Thor was already brought down to his knees. Disbelief shines in his eye when Loki starts to twist and turn with words, seamingly to get them both out. Thor notices the knife in Loki’s hand. The look in Loki’s eyes reflects in Thors as he makes the promise that the sun would shine on them both. While claiming his status, rank and title, Loki prepares to attack. And with the words of loyalty barely out of his mouth, he attacks. But Thanos, as Loki had expected, was ready. Lifting him up with the power of the infinity stones Thano already has. A ragdoll with its neck clutched in a big hand, Thanos wrings slowly the life out of Loki. With his dying breath, Loki antagonises and mocks Thanos. One hard crack of bones snapping and the world is dark. Only as an echo, he hears Thor bawl over his dead body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might end up adding more mischief and trickery in here, but these two things just came up. Nothing more. Dunno. 
> 
> As you might have noticed, less line per chapter then my previous chapter story. Hopefully I'm able to post new chapters faster. (at least in my case faster. :D )


	3. Chapter 3

Loki wakes up violently. Gasping for air while he claws at his neck. There are no fingers around his neck, no hand squeezing the air out of him, but he can still feel them on his neck. Confused Loki looks around. Trying to comprehend what has happened. His surroundings come back in clear focus. No longer hampered by lingering images. He looks aside him and notices the pod. He had been lying next to the pod, in which he had woken up the first time. He lets out a dry chuckle as he feels a sort of Dejavu.

Slowly he gets up and dusts off his clothes. His mind racing to figure out the what, the why and the how. He remembers searching for his brother but found a duplicate of himself. And when he had reached out to him he.. he… His mind staggers a bit and then, crystal clear and in an orderly fashion Loki remembers two lifetimes simultaneously. One he himself had lived up till now and that of the other Loki. He holds himself standing with the aid of the pod while he starts laughing. Now THIS is such a great contradiction. There is so much chaos in his mind, he needs order to sort things out. He, a god of chaos, needed order to keep things going, how ironic. But at least all the questions are answered, except this: What happened to the other Loki? Loki lets go of the pod and starts walking. He now knows the layout of the ship and that nobody except him is on board. 

He walks through this ship, straight to the cockpit. He no longer has to search, or think or everything. Thanks to the other Loki, he knows the entire layout of the ship. And not only the layout, he knows every little button, knob, lever, meter and what not in the cockpit. The cockpit is built to be handled by 1 to 3 pilots. The other Loki had already put the settings to one pilot only. So that’s why he was able to steer this ship, even though he had never set eyes on this control panel. The other Loki had made the control panel logical for Loki. When Loki enters the cockpit, it feels like entering his own room back in Asgard.

Loki looks at the screen of the surveillance camera. First thing he notices is the different date. The year is different. When he calculates the calendar to the Asgardian calendar, he discovers that he’s been out for over 2 years, give or take a few months. He sags down in the operators chair. He simply can’t believe it. But when he searches through the footage to see the image of him finding himself, he knows it’s true. He watches what has transpired. Seeing his own body go limp the moment he touches the other Loki. After a few minutes the other Loki and all the Asgardians burst into lights and ascended to the universe. A few minutes later a tractor beam catches him and pulls him out of view. When he switches cameras, he sees his own body being towed into the hangar and gently lowered next to the pod. Then all goes still, lights go out except for the emergency lights and his own body glowing softly with green light. The system informs him that nothing has happened till the moment he wakes up, showing him the footage of him waking up. 

So his mind needed two years to get everything back in order in his mind. Although he loathes the orderly structure in his mind, he still can feel the usual chaos as well.  
But all of this still hasn’t answered his question of ‘What about Thor?’ Only thing left to do for him is sit down and concentrate on his brother. He’s now well rested and his mind clearer than ever so it shouldn’t be a problem now. 

Loki sits down in the captain's chair. The other Loki had tinkered with it and now it could function as a recliner as well. He let the chair topple till it was more like a bed and he closed his eyes. He wanted to stay in the cockpit. If he needed to take action he would not have to waste any time to move back here. He started to relax and focus on Thor. 

The fun thing with mind travel is, the moment the connection is right, you’re there. Just like that, in a blink of an eye, no matter the distance. Loki chooses to stay hidden and not show his astral projection. He looks around where he has landed. It’s a simple cabin. Could have been smaller, but it also could have been way bigger. Some simple furniture and , to Loki’s horror, there are piles of old beer kegs, beer cans and lots and lots of pizza boxes and other take away boxes. Loki dares to bet there are even uneaten foods in them. He’s glad he can’t smell here.  
He hears roaring laughter from the other side of the room. He peeks around the corner and sees Thor sitting on a big couch with Korg, Meek and some other humans. At least he thinks they are humans. There is a game running on the big screen and they all are playing it. He follows the game for a while. Loki very quickly notices which character Thor has picked. He shakes his head. Of Course his brother went for the big muscled axe wielding character. Who would have thought that Korg of all creatures would go for a mage. Somehow it pampers Loki’s ego. Thor is laughing, commenting and joking with his new friends throughout the game. Friends in real life but also online. Thor is doing just fine without Loki. 

Loki blinks and he’s in the middle of New Asgard. Houses are built, businesses are thriving And the overall feel is good here. Although Loki feels the sadness that still lays within many of Asgard. But it’s no wonder. They just lost their homes and family members because of Hela and the attack of Thanos.  
He sees Valkyrie walking around and giving orders to some of the workers, who are working on a big building. Loki’s guess is that it’s going to be a townhall of sorts. The overall look of the town isn’t exactly like Asgard, but woodworkers and other artists are working on beautifying the village and turn the houses into more Asgardian style houses. By the looks on some of the houses, they will manage to re-invent Asgard as a place. Perhaps Loki will have a peek in a couple of years. By the looks of it, Asgard is doing fine without him. 

Hidden in the shadows of New Asgard, a shadow himself, he thinks about his next course of action. Thor and Asgard don’t need him. Midgard doesn’t want him. If Loki would return here, Thor would only be happy for a second or so. Then he would be angry. Because his brother will think he has faked his death again. And weezled himself out of the obligation to help rebuild Asgard. He doesn’t think Thor will believe his story.  
Besides, didn’t he state, back on Sakaar in that elevator, that their ways had diverted a long time ago and that perhaps it was best to go separate ways? Loki had grudgingly nodded, hiding his sadness and that stab in his heart back then.  
No, Loki was no longer part of Asgard or the royal family. Loki is now just Loki. He sighs. His sigh only mixes with the sound of the wind and the sound of the sea. Loki stands there, unseen, unheard. Only one thing to do. 

And he’s back to Thor's home. They won't be able to see or hear him, because Loki doesn’t want them too. He stands behind Thor, who’s still sitting on the couch.Laughing and playing. But here too, Loki feel that sadness, perhaps more sadness than with the rest of Asgard. But that’s understandable. Thor lost his entire family in a matter of two years. And for long lived people this will feel like it happened yesterday,even if the last death was two years ago. Thor has friends, real friends that will help him get over his grief. To face the world as the King of Asgard. Thor will shine and Asgard will thrive.  
Loki leans in and whispers:”Farewell brother.” near Thor’s ear, even though he knows Thor won’t be able to hear him. Then he vanishes. 

Thor freezes. His character in the game stops and stands idle. He had heard the farewell of Loki. His eyes wide in horror as he stares at the screen. But he doesn’t see how his character gets attacked and dies. Suddenly he burst into tears. “Hey dude, it’s only a game. what…?” Korg stares at Thor as he reads Thor's emotions. Korg wraps a big stone arm around Thor. This makes Thor break down completely. His friends feel uneasy and clumsy as they have no idea how to comfort him. 

And while Thor is bawling over the loss of his brother, claiming he had heard his voice, Loki’s ship turns, fires up the engine and speeds to new parts of the universe. Those parts of the universe that have never heard of Asgard or Odin or Thor, let alone of Loki. The chains of all that is Asgard and the Nine Realms are gone. Loki is finally free to do what he wants to do. Nobody will hold him back now. A new life awaits him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh yess. feel free to leave a comment. It's my fuel to continue to write. ;)
> 
> And already wondering if I'm able to keep the story in 8 chapters or that the ammount will be 10.. I'll see. So, consider youselves be warned that in the end we might end up with 10 chapters.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While writing this chapter, this song was playing in my mind.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlJa4xcVzvY  
> Allas it’s Dutch only. It is about a man who has decided to take drastic actions to change his life. The music becomes more as the song progresses, expressing the positive progress the man is making.
> 
> The lyric is in the end Notes with a translation in brackets. Translation does not rhime because I want to get the feel of the text right.

Loki leans back in the pilot's chair. He had navigated through an asteroid field. It was tricky, especially since he didn’t know the controls that well. Sure, the other Loki had taken it out for a test run several times. But that was nothing compared to maneuvering through an asteroid field. He leans back in the pilot seat and watches space come up to him and slides all around him.  
He watches it for a while. After he left the disaster area, he had stumbled on a wormhole that transported him lightyears ahead. But he ended up in the middle of an asteroid field. It took him days to navigate out of it. But now that he’s out, there is nothing left to do. Well, except the things the other Loki hadn’t been able to do at the ship. Other than that, there was nothing to do. The ship has enough energy to get the pepetium engine running. Once the startup has finished it wouldn’t need any more fuel. Unless the closed circuit was disturbed. There is more than enough food stored in the pantries of the ship. All prepared with a magical lining so food stays good for a long long.. Very long time. 

Loki has no idea what to do next. He gets out of the pilot seat, leaving the ship on autopilot. He noticed that, even though he has the knowledge of the other Loki of every bolt and what not of this ship, it still feels new and exciting to him. Looking with his own eyes is still a bit different than looking at it with the eyes of another. 

While he is renewing his knowledge of the ship, he ends up on the top floor of the ship. This floor is different from the rest of the ship. He lights up the area. He sees a big room with all kinds of plants stuffed on one side. Some furniture is just put randomly in the room. There are stacks of materials, meant for redecorating the room. Loki walks up to the plants. They are all still green, despite the few years of neglect. He hovers his hand over one of the plants. He smiles. The magic seals are still in place. 

He drags one of the recliners to the middle of the room. His mind is getting filled with the ideas the other Loki had for this room. Thus it was up to this Loki to make something of this room. He likes the prospect of that. While he grabs a remote of one of the tables, the memories of Frigga’s garden comes into mind. He flops down on the recliner and opens the sunroof with the remote. And more than in the cockpit, space is overwhelming. He sees the universe sliding past the ship. The infinity is staring at him. While he pours himself some mead he had taken out of one of the pantries, his mind starts working on the garden plans. He sips, watches the universe and knows that when he has finished this garden project, Frigga would have been proud of him.  
In the weeks to come, Loki works non stop at the garden. Most of the things he doesn’t do with magic. He has all the time in the universe so why hurry? Besides, it’s a quirk he has ‘inherited’ from the other Loki. He had hardly used his magic since it was keeping him alive and it would have drawn too much attention to him. He has had some trouble getting the water system to water the plants on regular times. The system itself was not compatible with the rest of the ship. Loki is amazed that he had managed to get it to work anyway. Then again, this whole ship is made of all kinds of parts from across the universe. And not all parts had been compatible. Somehow the other Loki had made it all work. The cockpit even has one of the levers made out of some rock hard wood. It made the whole ship breathe chaos. No wonder it feels so .. home like. 

Now, with all the garden work done, Loki lays on a launch bed in the center of the garden. Luscious green surrounds him and the first exotic flowers have started to bloom. On the small table next to him there are some nice treats consisting of fruits and meats and a nice red mead to accomplish the flavour of the treats. Soon he will have the first fruits of this garden as well. He sighs in complete happiness. He had never felt this complete in his whole life. He nibbles on the treats, sips his mead while he looks at the nebula above him. The colours and how it twirls around the ship. Oh man.. This is life. How did the humans call it? Vacation? Yeah, that’s right, vacation. Loki is on vacation and he has bloody well earned it. 

He digs in his memory. What did the humans do on their vacation? Fun things, visiting places, some did some reading or went exploring. Some wanted it to be a very active vacation while others preferred to lazy around and enjoy the good things in life.  
He takes out a pad from the armrest and starts searching in the database of the ship. There are touristic routes from all over the universe stored in the database. He smiles when he finds one close by, the Althean System. Perfect but then he sighs. He has to go to the cockpit and plan the course for the system and let it follow the touristic route once there. He doesn’t feel like getting up so he stays there and enjoys the view and the snacks and the drinks. 

A few days later, Loki set the course for the Althean system. While he waits to arrive at the destination, he’s reading books, real ones and digital ones. The other Loki had collected so many, it’s a joy to see if the other Loki was right about owning them. He is getting acquainted with his own library.  
A loud ping reveals that the ship has arrived at the designated area. Loki was making lunch at that moment in the kitchen. There are cook books in the library and it’s great fun to explore the recipes. He hurries to the garden, his lunch on a tray. The roof is already open. The automated tour starts as soon as he activates it through the pad. The tour consists of things to see in space and places to visit. He can retrieve the info from the pad when he’s at those places of interest.  
In the days that follow a smooth voice tells about the nebula and all the good places as he passes them. When a planet has peaked his interest, he visits it. Almost all planets live up to the expectation, except one. Instead of a glorious planet populated with a high level of entertainment, there are only ruins and bodies as far as the eye can see. The flora of the planet has followed the example. All and all it’s now a desolated and depressing place. It leaves Loki a deep and horrid feeling.  
When he takes another tour a few months later, there are three planets that look like a great disaster has happened. He realises that, although the other planets did live up to the expectation, there were traces of a great war or disaster. He concludes that a great war had happened here not so long ago and the survivors are simply getting things back on track. He doesn’t want to find out if his assumption is correct. He is on vacation and vacation means only fun stuff. There is this little nagging feeling in the back that things off. For the sake of the vacation he ignores it completely. 

There is another thing he has decided during his vacation, taking time to explore his Jotun form. With the revelation of a hidden older sister, Loki doesn’t believe anything Odin has ever said. He had heard of Thor about the painting behind the other painting in the throne room. If Odin and the whole of Asgard had been lying about the first born, what are they lying about as well?  
And what about the Jotun? They weren't such mindless monsters as was always claimed, if they had an altar. Loki had read somewhere in the books that sometimes in times of war, they hid women and children in a house of faith. Placing a kid on the altar for protection. Odin said he was left to die on an altar, but what if that wasn’t true?  
And so, between two tours, Loki took a deep breath and created a double of himself but then in Jotun form. Deep inside he knows what his born shape will look like. But knowing is one thing, seeing is another. He had never seen his Jotun form himself. Only saw his hands and arms. And THAT, at that time, was horrifying enough. He peeks through his eyelashes. His eyes wide open after the first glimpse. Is this.. Is this? Loki can’t believe his eyes as he slowly walks around his own naked form, taking in every curve and every marking this body has. He is amazed how the markings run all the way down his body. He lifts his manhood a bit up and looks under it. Yes, even there are some markings.  
Loki lets go of the doubles private part and sits down in a chair. He sips some mead while he looks at his own image from the distance. He is so different from the Jotun they had fought with. Are there more differences in the race of Jotun? Subraces? Are there more like him or .. or.. Is he a mix. If so, with what race? With a flick of his hand he let the double disappear. It had given him more questions that it had answered. He files it away to explore more in a future. For now, he knows, he does not look as hideous as he thought he would look in this form. 

To test his theory, Loki uses his Jotun appearance on the next tour. Every planet he visits, the inhabitants greet him with kindness and curiosity. The kindness he had already experienced in his Asgardian shape, when he visited the planets that are inhabited. ABut when he arrives in his Jotun form they swarm around him. Apparently they have never seen a Jotun before or had heard of it. They want to touch the ridges that form this matical pattern on his body. And by accident, Loki discovers that people can touch him in this shape and that the frostburn is a protection system of his body. Loki decides to keep the appearance and make it his standard appearance. He gains more by walking around as a Jotun than as an Asgardian. And this on it’s own, makes Loki feel more and more comfortable in his own skiing. 

But he had to get used to the differences this body brought along with them. He could handle the heat less better than in his Asgardian shape. But most of all, the horns on his head. Especially in the garden, his horns sometimes got tangled up in the vines or branches. Brushing his hair was now more challenging than before. How do you brush your hair around horns? But he succeeds to find a way. Jotun nails are much harder than Asgardian nails. Forget clipping, use a file to get them shorter. And so on and so on. Loki realizes he starts to like his new shape. 

Loki has set course to the Andromeda System. He had read about a planet in that system that was mostly made out of colourful minerals. The whole planted sparkles and it’s visible from outer space. The rays would be very good for some of the plants in the garden. He is already looking forward to having his ship making an eight shaped flightpath for the next couple of days in that system, so that the plants could soak up the rays. He has settled down in a comfy chair in the garden with a big book about that particular planet. The protective shield of the garden dome down, letting the universe shed it’s light into the garden. There is a mug of hot tea and some snacks on the small table next to him, as he reads a book about some of the specific plants he has in the garden. 

Suddenly the ship starts shaking and gives a big jerk, making Loki fall out of the chair. The tea mug broken, the snacks all around him. He has managed to shield the book during his fall. The ship keeps on shaking and there is this estranged rattling noise. Loki crawls up, clinging to a tree while he puts the book in one of his magical pockets. By now the alarm is blaring about a danger in a language Loki barely understands.  
He works his way out of the garden into the hallway. This is not going to work. It’s a long way to the cockpit from the garden. He concentrates. Green light engulfs him completely and a second later Loki is on the bridge. The moment he appears, the ship makes another jolt, making Loki almost lose his footing. He holds himself standing while grabbing the captains chair and the control panel. Feverishly he hits the emergency button that should close the shields of the garden. Judging by the lights on the panel, at least that works. After pushing some other buttons on the control panel of the captain's seat, Loki hopes everything is shielded and locked, bracing the ship for impact.  
He flops in the pilot seat. He feels as if he has to be at several places at the same time. Only now Loki has the time to look up at the big screen and sees a planet heading his way, or rather, the ship is pulled to the planet. With only one engine working properly, the ship has not the power to steer away. Getting that ship down in one piece will be challenging.  
Loki tries to steer the ship the best he can under the circumstances. The atmosphere of the planet is approaching very quickly. Loki has barely the time to get the re-entry shields up and running. By now he has shapeshifted himself into a creature with 6 arms. One is too long as it needs to be able to use a lever at the copilots station.  
Loki is cursing inwardly about a lot of aspects of the ship as the ship starts to plummet down to the planet. He makes a promise to himself. If he manages to get out of this alive, he will first finish that checklist the other Loki had left behind. Then he will get something to let the ship run more sufficiently in the future. Aside from these thoughts, the thoughts on how to crashland are adjusted by the second. He has no idea what the ground level of the planet has in store for him. A big layer of clouds is blocking his view. And once the view is clear, the joy is short lived. He is heading right to a little city. It’s too late to maneuver the ship to the less populated area of the city. In a last effort to minimize the damage, Loki pulls out the landing gear. But at that same moment he feels the impact of the planet on his ship. He gets thrown out of his chair, hitting his head against the control panel. While he slides down , he loses consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Op een terras ergens in Frankrijk in de zon  
> (On a terras somewhere in France in the sun)  
> Zit een man die het tot gisteren nooit won  
> (Sits a man, who wasn’t a winner till yesterday)  
> Maar zijn auto vloog hier vlakbij uit de bocht  
> (But his car flew out of the bend nearby.)  
> Zonder hem, zonder Herman,  
> (Without him, without Herman,)  
> Want die had 'em net verkocht  
> (Because he had just sold it.)
> 
> Herman in de zon op een terras  
> (Herman in the sun on a terras)  
> Leest in 't AD dat 'ie niet meer in leven was  
> (Reads in the AD [a newspaper in my country] that he is no longer alive)  
> Zijn auto was volledig afgebrand  
> (his car is completely burned out)  
> En die man die hem gekocht had  
> (and the guy who has bought it)  
> Stond onder zijn naam in de krant  
> (was with his name in the newspaper)
> 
> O, o, o,  
> (ohh ohhh ohh)  
> Even rustig ademhalen  
> (Easy, take a breath)  
> O, o, o,  
> (ohh ohhh ohh)  
> Lijkt of het regent als altijd  
> (It looks like it’s raining like usual)  
> Maar het regent, en het regent zonnestralen  
> (But it’s raining, and it’s raining sunrays.)
> 
> Een week geleden, in een park in Amsterdam  
> (A week ago, in a park in Amsterdam)  
> Had 'ie z'n leven overzien en schrok zich lam  
> (He had an overview of his lime and was shaken)  
> Hij was een man wiens leven nu al was bepaald  
> (He was a man, who’s life was already set in stone)  
> En van al zijn jongensdromen  
> (And of all his childhood dreams)  
> Was alleen het oud worden gehaald  
> (He only managed to get old)
> 
> [CHORUS] 
> 
> Op een bankje in het park kwam het besluit  
> (The decision was made on a bench in the park)  
> Noem het dapper, noem het vluchten maar ik knijp er tussenuit  
> (Call it brave, call it running, but I’m getting out of here)  
> Nu een week geleden en hier zat 'ie dan maar weer  
> (A week ago and now here he sat again)  
> Met meer vrijheid dan hem lief was en nou wist 'ie het niet meer  
> (With more freedom than he wanted and now he has no clue what to do)
> 
> Herman leest wel honderd keer de krant  
> (Herman reads the newspaper a hundred times)  
> 't staat er echt, pagina tien, zwart omrand  
> (It’s really there, page ten, black border)  
> Hield 'ie vroeger al zijn meningen  
> (Back then, all his opinions)  
> En al zijn dromen stil  
> (and all his dreams. He kept them quiet)  
> Nu was 'ie niks niet niemand nergens meer  
> (Now he’s nothing, nobody, nowhere)  
> Kan dus gaan waar 'ie maar wil  
> (He can go wherever he wants)
> 
> Herman rekent af en staat dan op  
> (Herman gets up and pays the tab)  
> Hij heeft eindelijk de wind weer in z'n kop  
> (he finally has the wind in his face)  
> 'Ik heb een tweede kans gekregen  
> (I have gotten a second chance)  
> En da's meer dan ik verdien Maar als dit het is dit het , als dit het is dit het, als dit het is dit  
> het, En we zullen het wel zien'  
> (And it’s more than I deserve. But if this is it this is it, if this is it this it, if this is it this is it. And we’ll see.)  
> [CHORUS] 2x


	5. Chapter 5

He wakes up in a cockpit filled with flashing lights and a blaring alarm. Loki tries to sit up, but notices that his horns are stuck in the wiring of the pilots control panel. Apparently when the ship was crashing down, Loki had transformed from his octopus like being into his Jotun form. This form is very sturdy compared to the Asgardian or the octopus form. He shifts back to his old appearance, untangling his horns in the proces. 

He slowly gets up. Somehow he has managed to get the ship down in a horizontal position. He sits down in the co-pilot seat to see how the ship itself is doing. The systems show that, aside from one dent and the landing gear, the ship is in a good condition. The landing gear have cushioned the brunt of the impact. He congratulates himself in picking such a fine and sturdy ship.   
He knows he has landed in a city. How many buildings has he flattened in the proces? He hurries over to the captain's chair and turns off the alarm and reverts the light to it’s normal setting. He takes a seat in the captain’s chair and opens one of the screens to see the outside world. The only thing he sees is smoke curling around his ship from the crash landing. He can vaguely see low buildings. He was lucky that this city has mainly low buildings. He tries to get a look below but notices that the camera’s below are not working. Loki groans. This means, he has to assess the damage first hand and face the angry mob below. He makes a note to himself: Add more cameras below. 

He walks towards his regular exit only to find out it is unavailable at the moment. The big dent had to be at the lock system. Loki sighs. Ofcourse, when it rains it pours. Then there is one exit below, left to use: The ramp of the main cargo bay. With his finger on the button to lower the ramp, he starts to doubt if he should greet them looking like this. His recent trips had made him discover that the inhabitants in this area responded better to his Jotun form than his Asgardian form. He doesn’t know what his ship has destroyed in the landing so he better softens the crowd a bit. His shape changes again in his Jotun form. Horns pricking proudly in the air, Eyes like ruby shines in an azure skin with mathematical and simetrish patterns. He checks his outfit. He has decided to wear the same thing as on Sakaar. The yellow lining of his cape honors his mother. Somehow he feels it soothing to have something of Frigga with him when he’s about to face them. 

He takes a deep breath as he pushes the button. The ramp lowers and slowly he starts to see the faces of the people. It surprises him that their faces look quite neutral. As the ramp is almost down, there is a nauseating crushing sound coming from under it. Inwardly loki cringes. He recognises the sound as a skull being crushed. An odeur fills his nostrils and instinctively he knows that it’s the creature's version of blood. If these people would have been neutral or perhaps nice towards him, now that chance is gone. He prepares for an assault or anything like that. But instead a big creature, chestnut coloured scalded skin, amber coloured eyes and dressed in clothes that had seen better days, approached him with an expression of gratitude and hope. As if Loki had relieved him, he thinks it’s a him, of some heavy burden. Loki had instinctively backtracked a few steps when this being approached him. The man seems able to read Loki’s body language, because he stopped and started to talk. The blood of whoever is under the ramp starting to touch the creature's boots. He starts to talk, his eyes shining with new found happiness. Loki frowns while he leans in a tad. This language, again All Speak is falling on this one too, it has similarities to the others but Loki can only comprehend some words of it. The man shows both his hands with open palms, an universal sign of bearing no ill will. Then he extends both hands and join them so they form a small bowl. Again an universal sign, this time one of offering friendship. Loki eyes the man with caution. Carefully he places his fingers in the ‘cup’. Hands fold gently around his while Loki hears words he can decipher. “Welcome to Bragnar.” Loki flashes a shy smile to be greeted with a warm and welcoming smile. 

The man guides Loki from the ramp. Loki jumps over the puddle of alien blood. He doesn’t know who it was, but he doesn’t want the blood to stick to his boots. The man starts to talk about something but Loki only understands a bit here and there. It takes a few tries before the man and Loki find a language they both understand. Lucky for Loki the man is from a family of intergalactic merchants who used to operate in this part of the universe. As a result, the man, who has introduced himself as Do-Resh, can speak several commonly used languages of this area.   
Do-Resh tells him about the history of his town. How a powerful man, who was one chosen from the people, now abuses his power to dominate the villages. The once thriving city became a living ghost town under his guidance. Poverty and sickness became the norm rather than an exception. The people were no longer free and forced to do his bidding. Not obeying him had dire consequences. Punishment came in all sorts of forms and manners. He even had some magic at his disposal. People who had defied him too often, were publicly executed in the most horrible way.   
The man and his close companions had been in the middle of the town square on a stage to announce more taxes and some new rules that would restrict the inhabitants of the village even more. Do-Resh had the feeling that he was about to announce an execution when Loki so elegantly landed his ship on top of the man and his chosen ones. Loki chuckles as he hears how his ‘landing’ was described. The man would have had enough time to get away, but he was so vain. He thought his magical powers would shield him from the crash. Loki had proved him wrong. 

Do-Resh claps Loki on the shoulder. Thanks to growing up with Thor, Loki didn’t buckle under the sheer power Do-Resh so nonchalantly displayed. “Loki, thanks to you, there is hope again. Tomorrow we will hold a party in your honor.” People around him nod eagerly. A tall woman interrupts their conversation. “I will arrange to get the party going tomorrow. Things will go rusty since we weren’t allowed to party in a long time” Her face shines with joy as she starts to run towards a building. “Would you do me the honor to have dinner at my place? I would love you to meet my family.” Loki would rather be alone on his ship again, but he understands the importance of this visit so he nods in acceptance. “I would be honored, Master Do-Resh.” Do-Resh laughs. “I am no master. A Master Smith perhaps but that’s all. Just call me Do-Resh.” Loki makes a small courtesy bow with his head. “Thank you, I will.” Loki casts a quick look at his ship. People are already around it and unceremoniously moved the remains to the gutter. No love lost here. “Don’t worry, Loki. We will repair your ship. It’s the least we can do for you.” A soft ‘Thank you.’ escapes Loki’s lips. 

The home of Do-Resh had once been a home with grandeur once. Now it looks worn out. His smithy had the same worn out feel, but good maintained. Same goes for the interior of the home. Good maintenance but worn and old. A woman approaches Loki. “Hi, I’m Ashis, the partner of this bad boy.” She nudges playfully Do-Resh. He chuckles softly. “Sorry, I brought one unannounced guest for dinner.” She laughs. “I already figured that out. You were talking and talking to this poor man. His ears must have fallen off by now.” Loki smiles. “It is alright, Ashis. It was very entertaining.”   
A shy child was peeking around the curtains. Do-Resh wants to urge the child to come closer, but she refuses. “It is wise of your kid not to run up to a stranger like that. Give it some time and things will work out just fine.“ In that case: Loki, meet my daughter Minew. Minew, meet Loki. The man who squashed our leaders with one go.” The girl's eyes grow big and hide behind the curtains. Loki lets out a short chuckle and moves to the room Ashis was guiding him to.   
The dinner was simple but good and Loki has a great time with the family. In the course of the evening Minew warms up to Loki and by the time she has to go to bed, she’s his biggest fan. Loki can do tricks, how cool is that?   
Although Do-Resh offers Loki a place to sleep, Loki prefers to be on his own ship. But the ship stands crooked because one of the legs of the ship hadn't survived the landing well. Loki had no doubt that he had to give the other legs a check up as well. One of the others didn’t look too good either. Because of the skewed position of the ship, Loki discovers he can’t sleep in his own bed. He keeps rolling off of it. The only solution is the hammock in the garden. Adjusting the hammock so it is horizontal again, Loki finally gets some shut eye.

With startled big eyes Loki wakes up. Was that his ship? And there it was again, an erratic jerk of the ship, making Loki bounce in his hammock. Another shock and now Loki hangs upside down on his hammock, clinging to it as not to fall. It takes another few shakes and trembles before the ship is horizontal again. Loki slowly lets go of the hammock. He grabs his tablet, which carries a small version of the many operation system this ship has. Ofcourse, no power. Loki sighs before he starts to run to the bridge. Mid run he teleported to the bridge. He really should get a programm of sorts to knit all these programs together. 

On the bridge he sat down in the captains seat. Plugging in the tablet for some of the other controls he needed and that weren’t included in the captain's seat. Yet. He still needed to rewire and build a lot of things into the captain's seat. To his surprise, he sees on the tablet that the belly camera is working again. He notices how an elaborate system of poles has jacked his ship at a more normal position. Even from here, Loki can see that one of the landing legs is totalled. He half runs half teleports to the workplace he has made on the ship. Grabs some equipment, changes to his frost giant appearance and runs outside. Here he’s greeted by the workers. 

“You have a fine ship, Sir.” The forman pets on one of the still functioning landing legs of the ship. Behind him, Loki sees how they clean up the last of the blood by simply hosing it away. Yep, no love lost here. Judging by the debris he had crushed a building or two with his landing. But the citizens are already cleaning that up as well. He is surprised by the efficiency these people work. The voice of the forman pulls Loki away from his musings. “But I’m afraid we don’t have the right materials here to fix it. The materials are ordered by Do-Resh and will arrive here tomorrow. I’m Flinish by the way. Head of the construction of Ganoosha.” Loki gave him a puzzled look. “ That’s the city you’ve landed in, Sir.” Loki smiles. “Thank you. My name is Loki.”   
During his trips he had decided that he would no longer use a last name. The majority here had no last name and sometimes he had been forced to explain his last name. On one planet the name Odin had a bad reputation. He had avoided the conflict by claiming innocence. The name had been in his family for centuries. Simply coincidence.The people had accepted this explanation. 

The forman Flinish and Loki talks for a while. In the evening there will be a party in his honour on the towns square, basically under and around his ship. Till that time, Loki wandered around in Ganoosha. Everywhere there were signs of a once glorious city but now completely in disarray. But people had been trying to make it still look nice and all. Lovely flowers hanging down from the balconies. Big planters with small bushes and flowers. But all the green and flowers couldn’t hide the poverty of the city.   
When he finally returns to his ship, he is greeted by a view he has never expected. Party lights and colorful ribbons are hanging on the bottom of his ship. Little stalls with food and drinks in the corner. He even spots a dancefloor. The scent of the food makes him hungry again. He has had some food and drinks while exploring the city. But now it was almost dinner time and he could use a good bite. 

“LOKI, MY FRIEND!!” Loki hears the voice of Do-Resh calling out to him. He turns around while he has a small bun in one hand and some money in the other. “Hi.” Loki greets with a smile. Then he gets serious again. “ The stall won’t accept my money.” Do-Resh is near Loki now and pats him on the shoulder. “Of course you do not pay now. This is the party in your honor. Tonight we will celebrate our freedom we have gained thanks to you.” His hand now rests on Loki’s shoulder. “Have fun, my friend and enjoy this night.” 

Loki danced away the hours. People wanting to dance with him, wanting to talk to him and have fun with him. In the past, Asgardians had been willing to as well, but there was always an underlying reason for it. In general he was used to get closer to his brother. On occasion they had wanted something from him, the prince. But these people just wanted him for him. No other intentions as far as Loki could see. And since he is the deity of lies among things, he recognises a lie when he sees one.   
And so Loki parties the whole night. Meeting all kinds of villagers. Some will be useful at some point, some won’t. But that’s the point of socializing. And besides, you never know when you will be needing them.   
People would also come to him and give him gifts, even though Do-Resh had made it clear that the party itself is already a gift of the citizens of Ganoosha. Yet some felt some personal thanks would be in place as well. Most of the gifts were little trinkets but it’s the thought that counts. Loki accepts them all with grace and gives thanks to the gifter. Loki feels he will be here in this city for a while. Perhaps making it a point of return for him. 

It’s in the wee hours when Loki finally gets to bed, tired and satisfied. This was the best party ever in his honour. Although he had missed the booming voice of Thor in the festivities, it had been the right decision to go his own way. With this in mind, Loki falls asleep and continues the party in his dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Normally I would post faster but this time serious things happened in real life. Mom had torn her aorta and since she's a caretaker for somebody else, I suddenly became a caretaker. Fortunately my mom survived it but still there is a lot of caretaking left for me to do. That aside from running my own business inbetween.
> 
> So don't worry if the next chapter takes a while to be posted. Working on it when I can. And when not typing, the stories are dancing around in my head, nipping and tugging till I'm able to write it all down. Wich results in me writing for the other shapters as well.. and other stories yet to come. 
> 
> And on that note.. yeah.. I changed the amount of chapters from 8 to 10. I hope that is the last chapteramount change. And the story looked a lot smaller in my head innitially.


End file.
